Take a stroll through any store this time of year, and you’ll find lots of ways to spend a ton of money on Easter baskets.

But with a little planning and a little thought, it’s really not that hard to put together Easter baskets on a budget.  Just check out these ideas:

Reuse the Easter baskets each year.  Buy your Easter basket on clearance after Easter and then save it to use year after year.  If you’re concerned about using the same basket year after year, pick up a plain basket for cheap at garage sales or thrift shops and decorate it with a different bow each Easter.  Keep the basket small, so that you don’t feel pressure to fill the basket with lots of stuff.

Skip the store-bought Easter grass.  The Easter grass you buy at the store is just overpriced filler – and is usually some horrible plastic material.  Send some green paper through your paper shredder and you’ll have Easter grass to fill your baskets for a lot less money.

Invest in plastic eggs.  You can pick plastic eggs up for cheap at the after Easter clearance sales, at thrift stores, or dollar stores.  You’ll save money by buying your candy in bulk and then dividing them among the reusable plastic eggs rather than buying expensive individually-wrapped treats for each Easter basket.  Then use the plastic eggs year after year.

Watch the sales and use coupons for candy.  You can save money on candy by looking for coupons and matching them up with sales.

Buy in bulk. When shopping for toys and trinkets for Easter baskets, look for larger collections of items that you can split up. For example, you may be able to find a 5-car Hot Wheels set that you could divide among Easter baskets for less than what you would pay to buy each car individually packaged. Check out the party favor selections at your favorite discount stores for more things you could divvy up.

Find low-cost books.  Visit your local thrift stores or shop through Scholastic or Amazon to find inexpensive children’s books to add to your Easter baskets.

Think practical gifts.   Art and craft supplies, puzzles, and card games are nice additions to the Easter basket.  Since spring is right around the corner, things like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, or swim goggles would be fun, too.

Stress the experience over stuff.  You don’t need to spend a ton of money on Easter baskets when you use your creativity.  Hold an Easter egg hunt or create an Easter Basket scavenger hunt to make the holiday more about the memories than about things.

The Easter Bunny doesn’t have pockets, and I think there’s a reason for that.  Remember the true meaning of Easter and the welcoming of spring instead of focusing on overpriced Easter basket fillers.

Note: This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Please read our full disclosure policy for more information.